A/N: I hope you're all feeling festive in August! This chapter is dedicated to x Sarahh x for being wise like Grantly and because it was her idea in the first place. I really apologise for another long wait, but I hope this makes up for it. After watching last night's episode of Waterloo Road I have decided that this will be my last ever fic about Rachel Mason.
"SHUV, SANTA'S BEEN AND THERE'S PRESENTS!" a voice that was usually small filled the whole house.
"I WANT THE BIGGEST ONE!" Siobhan's squeal was followed by clatters on the stairs.
Christmas in the Fleet household could only be described as chaotic, but fun. The tree had gone up very early on the 8th as the girls had insisted. The fresh aroma of the pine leaves and Christmas candles brought a sweet tingle to the nose, and the fairy lights and random decorations provided a vast array of festive colours to the usually plain living room. The carpet could hardly be seen for mountains of presents.
During the night snow had fallen and it still lay on the road outside. The early morning sun made it glisten with a breath-taking beauty, and talking of breath-taking beauty Adam and I were still cuddled up on the sofa after last night's Christmas movie marathon. We'd made our way through a Miracle on 34th Street and Home Alone, but we both drifted off during A Christmas Carol, Adam before me. We were covered in tinsel and mistletoe, a product of too much wine and a bit of Christmas giddiness.
"What are you waiting for girls?" Adam grinned and Siobhan and Steph dived straight into the towers of presents. Scraps of paper flew through the air like the snow that fell outside. The girls were so pre-occupied by the presents that they hadn't even noticed the thick blanket of snow that coated the world outside. I watched them with great amusement through the squeals of "That's just what I wanted!" and "Wow! That's amazing."
The girls spent the rest of the morning discovering more about their presents. Steph was concentrating on an intricate thing with millions of pieces that she had to use to build whatever it was. Siobhan on the other hand was running around the house in a sparkly dress courtesy of Kim, and a Hannah Montana wig from Grandma Fleet.
At around noon the door-bell rung, and stood in the doorway was Phillip, shivering and covered in icy snow.
"Come in" I gasped and pulled him into the house. I let him take his coat of before I launched on him with a giant hug.
"Hello Rach." He laughed. He was looking down at me; I remember when he had to look up at me. Now he was a man with a degree in something or other. Phillip had come for Christmas dinner because his new girlfriend had gone to her sisters and his mum was doing God knows what.
"PHILL" Steph came hurtling towards her big cousin.
"Stephanie, wow you're big." He hadn't seen her since the summer holidays when he'd last come up from Bristol where he was living now.
"You can help me build my tower." She stated before dragging Phill by the hand into the living room and started explaining her little project to him.
It wasn't long before Adam announced that dinner was ready. It was a typical Christmas dinner of turkey, stuffing, roasters, sprouts, carrots, and pigs in blankets. That was followed by a Christmas pudding or Yule log for the girls. Adam had done an amazing job with the dinner, it was absolutely gorgeous, but then I expected nothing less of him. The crackers were laid out on the table which meant a load of rubbish jokes and paper hats. Siobhan tried her best to discretely help herself to wine. It was so nice to have all my family together.
After dinner had settled and Phillip had returned to his mum's we decided to all take a trip to the park with the sledges to make the most of snow on Christmas. I made sure the girls were wrapped up tightly with coats and scarves and anything else that provided some warmth. Once that was done we set off walking to the park.
The park was deserted and the snow was left untouched, at least until my children got at it. They'd soon forgotten about the sledges, and were instead chucking snowballs at their dad who ran away screaming. I couldn't help but laugh as mountains of ice soaked him through.
"I think mummy finds it funny." Adam informed the girls and they both stared at me before big grins lit up their faces. I yelped as I was chased across the field and pelted with snowballs from all 3 of them. Eventually my legs gave way beneath me and I fell to the floor, breathless but giggling.
The girls spent most the afternoon sledging down and running back up the slopes with energy I never knew could exist in such small people. When the winter sky became a mass of red and oranges, and the girl's yawns became frequent, I knew it was finally time to head back home to the warmth.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed the none event that was this chapter- don't expect much more cuteness because part 2's almost done and then we get stroppy teenagers. Next chapter things get interesting...